[Arvon]

HONORABLE MENTION: AIRBAG WEAPONS

Confirmed by Darwin

APRIL 1999, SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa carjacking has become popular in recent
years. The South African law has lenient provisions for self-
defense, and allows "lethal action" if personal property is in
danger. Citizens are inventive in creating martial security
systems for their cars. Poison gas, acid showers, flame-
throwers, and automatic gunfire are not unknown.
One such security system relied upon an airbag installed
in the car roof. If a driver sat down without disabling the
mechanism, the airbag would inflate and hit the victim atop
his head with a force strong enough to render him un-
conscious.
And that is exactly what happened to Pieter, who, armed
with a pistol, attempted to steal this vehicle. When the
airbag exploded, he thought that someone was shooting at
him, and he instinctively fired the pistol twice. Unfortu-
nately for him, his gun was still in his pocket at the time.
One bullet hit his knee, and the other lodged in the base
of his penis.

Reference: Der Spiegel